Virtually every spectator who is giving up a week at the beach for a week at sun-blessed Royal Liverpool comes armed with a question. Is this the year a European finally wins a major after 27 failed attempts? Or, more specifically, is this the year when a British or Irish player finally recaptures the Open?

Lord knows, there is no problem with quantity. No fewer than 29 Englishmen will tee off tomorrow, augmented by five Welshman, four Scots and four from the green island to Hoylake's west. That means more than one in four of the field will hail from the British Isles.

For the first time in an age, all corners of the kingdom have grounds for hope. England, among a long list, has three lions in Paul Casey, Luke Donald and David Howell. Scotland has dear old Colin Montgomerie. Ireland has Darren Clarke from the north and Padraig Harrington from the south. Wales has Stephen Dodd.

The yearning for someone to succeed is almost tangible. At Harrington's press conference yesterday three questions on the subject were fired off with such pleading by the same journalist that you hope it will happen, if only to come to the poor soul's rescue.

British sport's litany of failure this year has simply added to the desperation for a feelgood story. So, could this be the one?

A number of factors give cause for hope. Everywhere you look there are Brits and Irish playing well. The last big tournament in England, the BMW Championship at Wentworth, was won by an Englishman, Howell. Seven British and Irish players finished in the top 16 at the last major, the U.S. Open.

Donald is certainly confident. "You look at how good the leading British players have become and you think it will surely be just a matter of time before one of us wins," he said.

There is no lack of ambition. Casey and Loch Lomond appeared such a perfect fit last week you could almost have guaranteed him a six-figure cheque. Instead, he gave up the money on offer at the Scottish Open and headed down to Hoylake to practise.

"I know myself and the other guys well and, believe me, we all want to win major championships," he said. "You would have a seriously disappointed group of golfers if we all reached the age of 40 and we were still empty-handed."

The sheer depth of the British challenge is such that the burden of expectation is spread evenly. There is no Henman-esque spotlight bearing down on any individual player at Hoylake.

Donald said: "It has to help that there isn't anyone who is the centre of attention. We've all done enough to catch the eye but nobody's dominating all the attention. You could probably throw a blanket over myself, David (Howell) and Paul (Casey) right now."

Poulter takes up the theme. "Five years ago at The Open it was all about Monty, Darren or Padraig. Everyone wanted to talk to them and inevitably it would be a distraction for them. Now it's those players who are considered contenders, plus a whole load from England.'

The players mentioned are just the favoured names. What about a Paul Lawrie-esque winner like Kenny Ferrie or Paul McGinley? Surely there is going to be one week this year when Poulter lives up to his own billing and wins. He's certainly got the cojones.

Another point is that many of the favoured candidates are all older and several Opens wiser. Donald, Casey and Howell have either just reached or are approaching 30, the age at which Nick Faldo won for the first time at Muirfield in 1987.

While many of the international contingent grapple with a links the like of which they have rarely seen, the three lions can draw on the considerable amateur experience of playing such courses. "It certainly should be an advantage," said Donald.

While the homegrown hopefuls have all these innate points in their favour, there are factors concerning other players that might also work for them. The first is that Tiger Woods is currently not making everyone quake with fear.

Poulter said: "There was a time five years ago when you couldn't see anyone else winning anything, but right now there isn't that feeling in the locker room. Don't get me wrong, Tiger is still the man. But I think if you asked 10 people to name a winner you'd get a variety of answers and that wouldn't have been the case in 2000."

Similarly, the other members of the big five who have dominated the game in recent times have questions against their names. Phil Mickelson has been brilliant in every other major, but comes here having managed just one top 10 finish in 13 Open appearances.

Regarding the other three — Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen — they would be the first to admit they have not been at the top of their games this year.

As Els said: "I think among the five of us, we've done a lot of special things over the past six or seven years but, right now, myself, Vijay and Retief need to get our fingers out to catch the other two.'

Seven years and the questioning grows ever more urgent. Are we kidding ourselves the homegrown crop are that good?

"Not at all," said Lawrie, the last British player to win the Claret Jug. "They're fantastic players and I desperately want one of them to succeed. People think I'm happy that it maintains my record of being the last winner but the absolute opposite is the case. I'll be cheering as loudly as the next man."

Lawrie's win coincided with Carnoustie's return to the Open rota after an absence of 24 years. The question Poulter's trousers subliminally posed is this: could a similar thing happen at Hoylake?